---
title: Amazon ElastiCache Pricing: Node Hours, Serverless ECPU, and the Replica Multiplier (2026)
description: ElastiCache bills node-hours for Redis/Valkey clusters and ECPUs for Serverless. A cache.r7g.large with two replicas is 3× the primary node cost before data transfer. Serverless wins below ~$800/mo steady cache spend; provisioned nodes win above it.
url: https://www.joinhorizon.co/blog/amazon-elasticache-pricing-nodes-serverless-2026/
datePublished: 2026-06-17T00:00:00.000Z
dateModified: 2026-10-28T00:00:00.000Z
author: kevin-w
category: Cost Optimization & FinOps
tags: aws-elasticache, elasticache-pricing, redis, valkey, cost-optimization
---

# Amazon ElastiCache Pricing: Node Hours, Serverless ECPU, and the Replica Multiplier (2026)

> ElastiCache bills node-hours for Redis/Valkey clusters and ECPUs for Serverless. A cache.r7g.large with two replicas is 3× the primary node cost before data transfer. Serverless wins below ~$800/mo steady cache spend; provisioned nodes win above it.

import PricingHeroStats from '~/components/blog/PricingHeroStats.astro';
import PricingCalculatorCta from '~/components/blog/PricingCalculatorCta.astro';

**June 2026** ElastiCache list pricing in us-east-1 puts **cache.r7g.large** at **$0.219/hr** on Redis (~$160/mo per node) and **$0.1752/hr** on Valkey (~$128/mo per node). A primary plus two read replicas is **~$480/mo** on Redis or **~$384/mo** on Valkey before snapshot storage and cross-AZ transfer. We see this pattern copied from RDS Multi-AZ habits, and it doubles cache cost without doubling hit rate.

<PricingHeroStats
  stats={[
    { value: '~$128', label: 'Per r7g.large / mo', note: 'Valkey, single node us-east-1 (Redis ~$160)' },
    { value: '3×', label: 'Replica multiplier', note: 'Primary + 2 replicas' },
    { value: 'ECPU', label: 'Serverless unit', note: 'Compute + storage bundled' },
    { value: '1-yr RI', label: 'Commitment option', note: 'Database Savings Plans also cover ElastiCache' },
  ]}
/>

<PricingCalculatorCta blogSlug="amazon-elasticache-pricing-nodes-serverless-2026" />

## Engagement shape

A **subscription analytics SaaS** (~$9k/mo ElastiCache, Redis cluster mode) ran three shards × 2 replicas each for HA, nine nodes serving **12% average CPU**. Rightsizing to `cache.r7g.medium` and dropping one replica per shard (with Multi-AZ on primary only) saved **$2,400/mo** with no p99 regression on cache hits.

## Opinionated take

We recommend **provisioned r7g with Valkey** for production caches above $1k/mo with predictable traffic; **Serverless** for new services with unknown cardinality. Replicas exist for read scaling and failover, and should not be a default triple multiplier.

## If you only do one thing this week

Open ElastiCache **CPUUtilization** for each node. If max CPU &lt; 25% for 14 days, downsize one class and load-test. Model node count in the [ElastiCache pricing calculator](https://www.joinhorizon.co/tools/aws-elasticache-pricing-calculator/).

## More in This Series

Part of the **AWS Service Pricing** series (June 2026).

- Previous: [Part 24](https://www.joinhorizon.co/blog/amazon-ec2-on-demand-pricing-instance-families-2026/)
- Next: [Part 26](https://www.joinhorizon.co/blog/amazon-fargate-ecs-task-pricing-2026/)
- Browse all: [Cost Optimization & FinOps category](https://www.joinhorizon.co/category/cost-optimization-and-finops/)
- Caching patterns: [ElastiCache Redis strategies for production](https://www.joinhorizon.co/blog/aws-elasticache-redis-caching-strategies-for-production/)

## FAQ

### How are ElastiCache nodes priced?
Per node-hour by instance type and engine (Redis, Valkey, Memcached). Multi-AZ and read replicas multiply node count. Reserved Nodes are available for 1-year and 3-year terms on provisioned clusters.

### When is ElastiCache Serverless cheaper?
For variable or unpredictable traffic under roughly $600 to $900/mo equivalent provisioned spend, where you would otherwise over-provision nodes for peak. Above that band, r7g/r6g nodes with 1-year No-Upfront RIs usually win.

---

*Source: https://www.joinhorizon.co/blog/amazon-elasticache-pricing-nodes-serverless-2026/*